Pulla-Finnish Cardamom Coffee Bread

• servings: 3 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)

1/2 cup warm water (120 mL)

2 cups lukewarm whole milk (480 mL)

1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)

1 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp crushed cardamom

4 eggs (beaten)

9 cups all-purpose flour (1,080 g)

1/2 cup melted butter-OR softened-see update below (1 stick/8 Tbsp)

1 egg (beaten)

1 Tbsp whole milk or cream

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup pearl sugar or crushed lump sugar

Directions

Stir the yeast into the warm water to dissolve

Place yeast/water mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, eggs, and about two cups of flour. *I recommend pre-weighing the flour in a separate bowl. If you use cups to measure it, measure carefully to avoid adding too much flour, which will lead to a dry, stiff dough.

Stir until a batter is formed, then increase speed to beat until smooth

Add about 3 cups more flour and beat, usually at this stage the dough looks smooth and glossy

Stir in melted butter.

Stir in the remaining flour. The dough should be cohesive, but not quite stiff. If it gets to the point where it's very stiff and manageable it often bakes up a little too dry. I prefer to handle a dough that's a bit sticky and irritating, because the final product is way more delicious!

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. You can rest the dough about 15 minutes at this point, and then knead until smooth.

Place in a greased mixing bowl, cover and let rise until doubled-if your kitchen is warm, this will take about an hour, if it is cool, it may take longer.

Punch down gently and let rise again about 30 minutes, it should be very puffy again

WIthout punching down, turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into three equal parts, then divide each of these into three equal parts.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit

Roll out each piece of dough into a long cylinder, about 16 inches

Take 3 pieces, pinch the tops together, and braid together into a straight braid shape. Pinch the bottoms togehter as well, then turn each end under.

Repeat with the other two loaves.

Lightly grease baking sheets and lift the loaves onto them.

Let rise until slightly puffy again, about 20 minutes.

Beat egg with 1 Tbsp milk for egg wash, and brush over each loaf. Add almonds and pearl sugar if you wish.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. They will be fragrant and golden brown.

Slice and serve with coffee!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 54 g
• Calories: 170 kcal
• Total Fat: 4 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 29 g
• Total Sugars: 6 g
• Protein: 4 g